Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna joint-stock company completed a deal with businessman Bulat Utemuratov for shares in Temirbank and some shares in the Alliance Bank, the fund said on May 15.

Samruk-Kazyna and Bulat Utemuratov completed the deal on 79.88 percent of ordinary shares of Temirbank to the amount of 35.7 billion tenge and 16 percent of ordinary and preference shares in Alliance Bank to the amount of 1.5 billion tenge," according to a statement.

As a result of the deal, Samruk-Kazyna retains a controlling stake in Alliance Bank with 51 percent of ordinary and preference shares and Bulat Utemuratov becomes the controlling shareholder in Temirbank. The Kazakh regulators approved both transactions on March 20, 2014, according to a statement.

"The sale of banks' shares, in accordance with the instruction of Kazakh president, is the next step of implementation of the anti-crisis program. The aim is to stabilize the financial sector and thus free the Samruk-Kazyna Fund of its extrinsic functions on bank management," Elena Bakhmutova, the deputy chairman of the Board of Samruk-Kazyna JSC said.

"In general, the transfer of financial institutions will have a positive impact on the financial market and will make it independent. It will also promote a more active involvement of new bank owners in the development of Kazakhstan's banking sector," she added.

Bulat Utemuratov, for his part, pointed out that the completion of the deal on acquisition of a controlling stake in Temirbank and a minority stake of Alliance Bank is a key step in the process of recovery of these banks.